Noble Savages

by Sarah Watling

Noble Savages is the story of the four Olivier sisters: Margery, Brynhild, Daphne and Noel. Daughters of the Fabian Sir Sydney Olivier, governor of Jamaica, they were raised at the centre of the Fabian milieu, and expected to be independent and unhindered by convention. At Cambridge all four were introduced to Rupert Brooke and formed the Neo Pagan group. The youngest, Noel, would prove the love of Brooke’s life, and joined the tiny minority of female doctors before the First World War. Her sister Daphne became a pioneering educationalist who set up Britain’s first Steiner school.

Inspiring love and awe in many, they proved again and again to be ahead of their time, refusing to be restricted by the expectations of others. This book brings them in from the margins, and straddles the colonial leisure of the Caribbean, the bucolic life of Victorian progressives, the frantic optimism of Edwardian Cambridge, the bleakness of war, their links with the Bloomsbury Group, and a host of evolving philosophies for life over the course of the twentieth century.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Historical, Biography Memoir, Audiobook

390 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2019

Reviews

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a fascinating read. I never heard about the Olivier sisters before and was attracted by the blurb.
It was an engaging and entertaining read, a well researched and well written book that kept me hooked till the last page.
I will try to learn more about the sisters but I think that this book is a great introduction.
Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Els · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nobele Wilden. De Oliviers: Vier vrouwenlevens. Door Sarah Watling.

Al bijna een week vertoef ik in het gezelschap van Margery, Daphne, Brynhild en Noel. 552 boeiende pagina’s lang.

Ik ben een veellezer, een snelle lezer; 6 dagen over 552 pagina’s doen is traag, voor mij. Dat komt niet doordat het boek saai is of slecht geschreven. Wel doordat het immens rijk gedocumenteerd is, het staat tjokvol feiten, data en namen; persoonlijke maar ook geschiedkundig/maatschappelijk relevante. Dat maakt dat je elk woord van dit boek wil lezen, geen letter wil je overslaan.

Nobele Wilden is een biografie van 4 levenslustige, actieve, feministische, avontuurlijke zussen die hun tijd op vele vlakken ver vooruit waren. Het verhaal begint in de jaren ’80 van de 19de eeuw met de kindertijd van de zussen en volgt hun wedervaren gedurende 7 belangrijke periodes, eindigen doen we in1969 (2 wereldoorlogen en een hele andere wereld op allerlei vlakken later).

Naast een biografie van 4 vrijgevochten meisjes is dit ook een ode aan het zusterschap (op familiaal en feministisch vlak). We krijgen een inkijkje in het ontstaan van de vrouwenbeweging, de Neo-Pagans, de suffragettes, de opkomst van de antroposofie, het leven in Jamaica, het behandelen van geesteszieken, vrouwenrechten … En, niet onbelangrijk, vele leden van dé Bloomsburygroep (zoals Virginia Woolf) passeren de revue.

Wetende dat de zussen en vooral Noel geen voorstander zijn van het delen van biografische informatie is het een beetje onkies om dit boek te lezen (en te schrijven, wat Watling ook toegeeft). Maar het feit dat alle betrokkenen al lang overleden zijn én het feit dat dit echt een eerbetoon is aan de Oliviers, met eerbied en respect voor hun niet-conventionele levensstijl en de daaruit soms moeilijk te begrijpen levenskeuzes maakt dit goed. Vier vrouwenlevens is een gigantisch boeiend meesterwerk. Geschreven vanuit zusterschap. Onmisbaar in de boekenkast van elke (literaire) feministe. Bedankt Watling voor dit indrukwekkend meesterwerk; een debuut dat smeekt naar meer.

[Lisa Bywell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is so much interesting stuff in here about Neo-Paganism, the Fabian Society, the ‘New Woman’, the Edwardians..but then there is so much intricate, unnecessary detail. I ended up skimming the second half. A truly exhausting read.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Watling has written an impressive, captivating biography describing the lives of four sisters. Four sisters who have practically disappeared from English history; partly because they preferred privacy and never sought publicity.

Before you start on the book: it helps, if you are familiar with English literature, the Bloomsbury Group, poets from just before and during the First World War. For the sisters Olivier (yes, family of Laurence Olivier) knew a lot of influential people.

Their father and mother were involved in the founding of the Fabian Society. Mother and daughters were interested in women's suffrage, feminism, women's rights. Born while Victoria was still on the throne, these four girls certainly did not receive a Victorian upbringing. The subtitle of the book partly refers to this, but also to them being members of the group christened the Neo-pagans by Virginia Woolf.

This is the period in which women were admitted to a few university colleges, but could not graduate with a recognized BA or MA. Women were fighting for women's suffrage; but wars and broken promises by politicians meant a return to conventional norms and values. The sisters had to deal with conventional values, norms, preferred behaviour of women versus their own ideas and integrity.

Watling beautifully describes the impact this had upon the four sisters, of whom only the youngest, Noel, was to graduate and fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor. Though she was later forced to give up this career when the Second World War erupted.

It is the era when divorce caused scandals with children still being handed over to the divorced husband; though at least divorce was possible. Freud and Jung started to chart the human psyche, but Margery, the eldest, had to be institutionalised after the stress of caring for her became too much. Methods to treat mentally ill people were medieval.

It is the time that Marie Curie discovers radiation, only to die of it. Her discovery becomes a treatment for cancer, but cancer treatments is still in its infacy. Brynhild receives radiation treatment.

As mentioned above, the sisters were part of the Bloomsbury group and knew the Stracheys, Carrington, John Maynard Keynes and many, many others who remained much better known. Who remembers Daphne Olivier, the third sister, as the founded the first Steiner school in Great Britain?

At the beginning and end of this wonderful biography, Watling asks questions: did the sisters want to be remembered, or did they prefer privacy? What was the reason Noel was not happy cooperating with biographers of people the sisters had been very close to?

Watling rightly emphasizes that a biography is also partly fiction. Regardless of how much research and documents are available, it remains a filtered interpretation of other people's lives, feelings, ideas, characters, personalities.

But this biography of four lives is an impressive book and wonderful tribute to four women-lives, during good and bad times. It shows how a family and their friends, especially the four sisters, supported and helped each other during good and bad times.

[Tom D'Hauwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boeiende biografie. Zeer leerrijk. Was (deels) onwetend over het vroege feminisme eind 19de eeuw en ontdekte tot mijn ontsteltenis hoe vrouwen alle kansen op educatie onthouden werden. ‘Het zou slecht zijn voor hun voortplantingsorganen.’

Heel wat opgezocht ook over de Bloomsburygroep.

Bewondering voor de vier zussen.

'Op een bepaalde manier is het een vloek om je tijd vooruit te zijn. Je kunt niet wachten tot de rest van de wereld de achterstand heeft ingelopen; het leven moet geleefd worden, en het wordt vaak geleefd binnen grenzen die door anderen zijn gesteld.'

[Brigitte Van Cauter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een bijzonder boek! Absoluut een aanrader voor wie meer wil weten over de evolutie van de vrouwenrechten over de tijdspanne van een eeuw. De zussen Olivier zijn opgegroeid binnen een niet-conventioneel gezin, maar ondanks hun vrijgevochten manier van denken en handelen botsen ze toch regelmatig tegen de grenzen van de patriarchaal gerichte samenleving. Het geeft ook een goed beeld van de tijdsgeest waarin zij leefden. Veel bekende namen passeren de revue, maar de nadruk blijft evengoed liggen op het verhaal van de 4 zussen. Dit boek is zeker het herlezen waard :).

[Hans Moerland · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Nobele wilden, De Oliviers: VIER vrouwenlevens” vormt het resultaat van een veelomvattend en diepgravend onderzoek van historica Sarah Watling. Dat resultaat viel me aanvankelijk, de eerste paar honderd bladzijden, bepaald niet mee. Ik begon me zelfs al af te vragen hoe het mogelijk was over vier interessante, althans beweerd interessante, vrouwen zo’n oninteressant boek te schrijven. Ontzettend geneuzel over tal van banale en triviale kwesties als de liefdes- en andere relaties met en tussen personen die me weinig tot niks zeggen (een overzicht van de zogeheten Fabian Society, Neo-Pagans en Bloomsburygroep was meer dan welkom geweest). Een en ander wordt nogal chaotisch, ongestructureerd uit de doeken gedaan, en helaas ook erg omstandig, met een verpletterende overvloed aan details en namen. Bovendien krijgt de lezer veelal slechts kale feiten voorgeschoteld, waardoor de zusters Olivier voor hem niet tot leven komen.
Meer wordt dat gelukkig het geval als Margery, Brynhild, Daphne en Noel Olivier, geboren tussen april 1886 en december 1892 (ook een stamboom had in een boek als het onderhavige eigenlijk niet mogen ontbreken…), langzamerhand volwassen worden en Watling ze veel duidelijker profileert tegen de achtergrond van allerhande maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen. Waar ik in de eerste helft van het boek nog wel eens volstond een paar pagina’s vluchtig en oppervlakkig te lezen, overkwam dat me verderop in het boek niet meer. Al met al was ik blij te hebben doorgezet en het boek te hebben uitgelezen, allengs vond ik “Nobele wilden” toch wel een stuk interessanter worden.
De kwaliteit van de foto’s die in het boek zijn opgenomen, alsook het formaat waarin die zijn afgedrukt, laat over het algemeen te wensen over, maar meer zal er qua techniek en beschikbaarheid van het materiaal in kwestie niet hebben ingezeten. Wel had er meer aandacht kunnen, en ook moeten, worden besteed aan de verklarende onderschriften erbij.

[Gust P · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

[Joan Colby · Rating 1 out of 5]

. I thought I would like this book much more than I do, since most Bloomsbury epics are pretty interesting. This is Ms. Watlings’ first publication and her lack of structure is evident. Rather than focusing on the strength of each of her charcters, she lets her research overwhelm the story. We are left with a vast pile of verbiage. The premis is the poet Rupert Brooke whose untimely death devastated the Olivier sisters. His romance with them ultimately centered on the youngest,Noel, though Bronwyn apparently suffered a breakdown when she heard the news. Another problem with this book is that every peripheral character, of which there are too many, is given the same importance as the main subjects which contributes to a ms. that is more of a morass. A possible saving grace are the numerous photos included, if only they were adequately reproduced, a fault of the publisher, not the author. A decent story might have been carved out of this mess by a competent editor and I am surprised that such an effort was not attempted. Vitually every paragraph contains tangents that fail to move the narrative forward, and in many cases have nothing of significance to offer. I persevered in reading in an attempt to find something of value, but the wordage galloped on like a run away carriage with the reins flapping. Ms. Watling unearthed reams of material, , a laudable venture, if only she had not felt compelled to use every bit of it.

[Patricia Roman-Morar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never heard about the sisters before this book, yet the subject of the New Women and the struggle for women's rights has always intrigued me. This book is great, but a hard read sincer there is so much information dispersed through the book. At times I had a hard time following it through and the information overload tiered me, but this was overall a fascinating read.

[Helen Carolan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a confusing and rambling mess.The sisters sound like they could be interesting, but sadly the author spent all her time discussing other people. Disappointing.

[Judi Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about four sisters, cousins of Sir Laurence Olivier (who barely appears, and who I mention just to give a little context). I had certainly not heard of these women before I picked up the book, being attracted by the ‘savage’ aspect of these early twentieth century women. Indeed, I did not notice the connection to Sir Larry until I read the subtitle, having bought the book. The author (whose first book this is) describes it as being ‘four lives in seven fragments’, sensibly leaving out chunks of each life in order to do justice holistically to the lives of all four sisters, their remarkable parents and their many friends who are still household names. She makes her material (derived I would say from a great deal of vigorous research) work hard on a number of fronts.

At the outset, the book is about the sisters’ Fabian childhood, which encouraged youngsters to enjoy an outdoor, unfettered life. Basically they ran wild, particularly during the summer months. Father, Sydney Olivier, was a civil servant, later ennobled, the zenith of whose career was as Governor of Jamaica. In between periods abroad with their parents in the Caribbean on various postings, and lengthy camping trips and wild swimming in Surrey, the Olivier siblings managed to pick up pretty decent educations, bonded closely and feared nothing.

These, then, were the ‘noble savages’ of the title: Margery (born 1886), Brynhild (born 1887), Daphne (born 1889) and Nöel (born 1892). As children they formed themselves into a small fierce tribe, of whom the other local children at their family home in Limpsfield were terrified. They continued to be a force to be reckoned with throughout their lives, which included periods abroad with their parents, close friendship with Rupert Brooke and his set (dubbed by Virginia Woolfe the ‘Neo-Pagans’), the Bloomsbury set itself, university education (then still very difficult to come by for a woman), then for Noel a career as a doctor specialising in obstetrics, and for Daphne a career as an instigator of the Steiner anthroposophical educational system in Britain and a teacher within it.

Of course, women at this time had to fight super-hard for every gain, be it control over their own finances, bodies, children or careers. The Oliviers ran the gamut of what could go wrong for well-educated, outspoken women of their class and time, and also what could be achieved by such women.

The material about their association with many of the creative movers and shakers of their day is fascinating (they were not creatives per se themselves, except Brynhild, who made jewellery). But the word ‘no’ simply seemed to make them redouble their efforts to achieve a ‘yes’. These were brave women. It probably didn’t occur to them at the time how brave they were. They were resourceful. They were flawed, and sometimes they became broken. But their lives and times are fascinating. They certainly deserve to be read about and remembered. Sarah Watling has performed a sterling service on their behalf.

[Judi Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about four sisters, cousins of Sir Laurence Olivier (who barely appears, and who I mention just to give a little context). I had certainly not heard of these women before I picked up the book, being attracted by the ‘savage’ aspect of these early twentieth century women. Indeed, I did not notice the connection to Sir Larry until I read the subtitle, having bought the book. The author (whose first book this is) describes it as being ‘four lives in seven fragments’, sensibly leaving out chunks of each life in order to do justice holistically to the lives of all four sisters, their remarkable parents and their many friends who are still household names. She makes her material (derived I would say from a great deal of vigorous research) work hard on a number of fronts.

At the outset, the book is about the sisters’ Fabian childhood, which encouraged youngsters to enjoy an outdoor, unfettered life. Basically they ran wild, particularly during the summer months. Father, Sydney Olivier, was a civil servant, later ennobled, the zenith of whose career was as Governor of Jamaica. In between periods abroad with their parents in the Caribbean on various postings, and lengthy camping trips and wild swimming in Surrey, the Olivier siblings managed to pick up pretty decent educations, bonded closely and feared nothing.

These, then, were the ‘noble savages’ of the title: Margery (born 1886), Brynhild (born 1887), Daphne (born 1889) and Nöel (born 1892). As children they formed themselves into a small fierce tribe, of whom the other local children at their family home in Limpsfield were terrified. They continued to be a force to be reckoned with throughout their lives, which included periods abroad with their parents, close friendship with Rupert Brooke and his set (dubbed by Virginia Woolfe the ‘Neo-Pagans’), the Bloomsbury set itself, university education (then still very difficult to come by for a woman), then for Noel a career as a doctor specialising in obstetrics, and for Daphne a career as an instigator of the Steiner anthroposophical educational system in Britain and a teacher within it.

Of course, women at this time had to fight super-hard for every gain, be it control over their own finances, bodies, children or careers. The Oliviers ran the gamut of what could go wrong for well-educated, outspoken women of their class and time, and also what could be achieved by such women.

The material about their association with many of the creative movers and shakers of their day is fascinating (they were not creatives per se themselves, except Brynhild, who made jewellery). But the word ‘no’ simply seemed to make them redouble their efforts to achieve a ‘yes’. These were brave women. It probably didn’t occur to them at the time how brave they were. They were resourceful. They were flawed, and sometimes they became broken. But their lives and times are fascinating. They certainly deserve to be read about and remembered. Sarah Watling has performed a sterling service on their behalf.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being connected is what these four sisters are famous for and why their names pop up in so many biographies and why this biography was written. It is sad and a bit dull because their lives did not turn out the way their early promise seemed to lead. Their father was well known and received a title for his work, the eldest daughter spent over forty years in a mental institution, another sister met Rudolph Steiner and that led her to start the first Steiner school in England, a third was a doctor when women faced horrendous obstacles in medicine and the last and most beautiful divorced at a time when fewer than 2000 women a year got a divorce and it was publicized in the paper and there was scandal. The doctor was loved by Rupert Brook the poet before his death in WWI and held his biographers at bay over his letters for her entire life. They knew all the rich and famous people of their time including Virginia Woolf, H.G.Wells, CS Lewis etc. They were traveled and educated and beautiful and had approximately 16 children between them. Their aunt wrote books and a Laurence Olivier was a cousin. David 'Bunny' Garnett grew up with them and loved them. They lived through two world wars and are remembered.

[Bernadette Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know when you go looking for a specific book, but don't find it where you're looking. Well this is how I stumbled upon this book. I was looking for the Tin Man by Sarah Winman on Borrowbox, which is a way of borrowing ebooks from Libraries. I couldn't find it but fell upon this one instead. I have never heard of the Olivier Sisters before, but something drew me to the book. In this instance it was the cover followed by the blurb.

This book took me some time to read, it's one that you can dip in and out of very easily. However saying that, I have binge read the latter half of it as I was keen to find out more about them. It was an interesting read about the lives of the Olivier sisters and their interaction with the Bloomsbury group that were well known in the early half of the 20th Century.

If you're looking for something that will give you an insight into life in the early 20th Century, this book will fit that bill nicely. If reading on a digital format, please be aware the latter 15% approx. is an appendix/info section. I gave it a 3 stars or 6/10.

[Katedurie50 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four sisters were linked in multiple ways, pre and post First World War to Bernard Shaw, Woolf and Bloomsbury, Rupert Brooke (who was in love with all of them but worryingly, especially Noel, who was very much a schoolgirl at the time), C.S. Lewis...One died relatively young, one spent most of her life in a mental hospital with schizophrenia, one fought to become a doctor, one was a follower of Steiner; all were 'Advanced', identifying themselves in their youth as Neo-Pagans and favouring nude mixed bathing, and yet it's hard to be as impressed by them as their charmed circle was. They may have been beautiful but the grainy snapshots in these pages make them indistinguishable from less fortunate mortals; and the enchantments they cast are hard to recapture. I found myself often mildly irritated with them. Also their story is told in 'fragments' with great gaps between; I wouldn't have wished more but there are inevitable lurches in the frame.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know reading is subjective, but I am still surprised at positive reviews of some books, and it is again the case with this book. I must also say I’m surprised that the vast majority of press reviews are overwhelmingly positive, no matter how ordinary, or worse, I’ve considered a book.
This book had so many gaps in time, that it was almost not worth writing the book. I could also only read a little at a time because it just didn’t flow.
But what really takes the cake for me was these statements in the pompous Postscript - “I began to feel the need to take responsibility for this book explicitly, and to be honest about the fact that almost everything in it came at least in part from my imagination” and “The Olivier sisters lived. They were fascinating and complicated. But in writing this book, I had also invented them”! No mention of this in the introduction! I felt cheated and outraged. This was probably going to be a three star review, not after that insult.

[Anouk Mulder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lang geleden dat ik zo lang over een boek heb gedaan. Nu heb ik tussendoor nog wel andere dingen gelezen, maar dit boek zat zo bomvol informatie over 4 (!) verschillende levens dat het lezen wat traag verliep. Er werden zó veel namen in genoemd dat ik de draad soms volledig kwijt was, vooral omdat de laatste 60 bladzijden opeens weer verder gaan waar de eerste 50 bladzijden waren gestopt. Je begrijpt: verwarring alom.

Maar goed, afgezien hiervan heeft Sarah Watling een sterke biografie geschreven. Ze zet de levens van vier zussen (die hun tijd ver vooruit waren) uit tegen de ontwikkelingen in het feminisme en de maatschappij in het algemeen. Al met al dus wel de moeite waard!

[Joanna Blackman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and engaging. Through a group biography of now unknown women this manages to also be a great broad sweep of so many facets of British life from the late victorian period to the end of WW2, particularly the experience of women in society and an interesting consideration of the complications of biography and those who are left behind.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful account of the lives - as well as one can know them through biography- of these amazing sisters and all that surrounded them. Well written, well analysed and thoroughly interesting. Women’s history at its finest.

[Günter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ich lege ganz selten ein Buch vor dem Fertiglesen zur Seite, bei diesem war es nach 10 % der Fall.
Warum schreibt man so ein Buch?

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het mocht iets minder gedetailleerd zijn, ik raakte soms verloren in de vele namen.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally absorbing- enjoyed biographical elements of the novel but equally the social history contextualising the lives of the Olivier sisters

[Mairead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

[Christina Karvounis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very well researched and I appreciated the style and delivery. Very interesting people and time to be alive. But way too many tangents. Editor needed a heavier hand.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love reading about anything that touches on the Bloomsbury group. I had heard the Olivier sisters mentioned peripherally often so Watling's subject matter was not entirely new to me. All in all, her book does a good job using the Olivier sisters as a means of depicting the struggles of the New Woman to refine themselves professionally and privately. ( At times, I was sad to realize not that much has changed.) It was particularly interesting to see how Watling used Noel Olivier's reluctance to bare all to a biographer of her famous erstwhile lover, Rupert Brooke, as a means to demonstrate the difficulties of biographies in general. Watling clearly respects her subjects and does her best to inhabit their lives as they defined them but her writing style is sometimes a bit choppy. Still, the sisters themselves were interesting enough to keep me up reading one night, thinking what it truly means to be 'modern'.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boho aristocrats, like the Souls.. in fact, they all went to the same country house weekends.. Wild Wyndhams touches on Noel on a bit